It’s apricot season.
How do I know?
My family’s apricot tree is dropping hundreds of the golden-orange spheres at a lightning speed, and neither my family nor the neighborhood critters can keep up. Believe me; everyone’s trying. The deer poke their heads through the fence and take nibbles. There’s a whole family of raccoons that use their little paws to pick apart the fruit. Even the birds, opossums and skunks stop by when they can.
And then there’s my family. My father picks armfuls of them daily. We give them away to neighbors and friends. My mother, sister and I bake pies and cobblers and crisps and make jam and freeze them. Even though it’s dizzying, it’s also not a bad problem to have.
The apricot rain does an impressive job of bringing everyone together for one purpose: to enjoy good food. So, readers, please, join me in celebrating these little balls of sunshine.
Prep Time: 30 minutes if using peeled apricots, 15 minutes if using unpeeled apricots
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes or 1 hour and 5 minutes
Servings: 6-8
Ingredients:
½ cup butter (1 stick) and extra to grease the pan
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup oats
5 cups pitted, peeled and diced apricots
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup granulated sugar
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8”x8” baking pan.
2. Place apricots in a large pan. Boil water in a separate pan or in a teakettle and pour over apricots, covering them. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
3. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat or in a microwave, making sure not to burn it. Set aside to cool about 5 minutes.
3. In another bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, brown sugar and oats. Then, add melted butter and stir.
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
4. Remove apricots from water one at a time, peeling off the skin, removing the pit. Beware of hot water. Once you’ve finished, cut each apricot into pieces.
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
5. Scrape the goo into the greased pan and add lemon and granulated sugar. Mix gently until blended.
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
6. Add the oat mixture in chunks across the top of the apricot mixture.
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
7. Bake 40-50 minutes or until it bubbles. Let cool slightly and serve with ice cream.
Photo by Elizabeth Layman
Inspired by Fresh Apricot Crisp Recipe